Long-range college basketball talent: Players from Northeast Ohio travel to find right school

Carl Jones traveled to the East Coast to play for St. Joe's in Philadelphia. He is one of a handful of players to travel to find the right school.Plain Dealer Staff Image

It is that time of year when a lot of high school students, athletes or not, have to make that big decision. Are they ready to leave home for the big unknown called college?

Most area Division I basketball recruits land in conferences familiar to Northeast Ohio like the Big Ten, Horizon League or the Mid-American Conference.

They are close enough to stay in touch, regularly playing teams in the area so family and friends can see them play. But a few players, like Saint Joseph’s Carl Jones, look to step farther away.

A talented guard out of Garfield Heights with a nice shooting stroke, Jones chose to leave Northeast Ohio for the East Coast to play at Saint Joe’s in Philadelphia.

He’s a senior now, capping off a four-year career where he has averaged double figures every season for the Hawks.

“Coming out of high school, I wasn’t sure which school I needed to pick,” Jones said recently by phone. “I just got comfortable with the coaches, and that is what really helped me make my decision. From there, basketball was kind of easy for me.”

Jones is one of several basketball players from Northeast Ohio now playing away from home.

The same can even be said for coaches, as Cleveland Heights native Larry Shyatt is now head coach at Wyoming, where yet another player from the area, Revere’s Larry Nance Jr., is in his second year playing for Shyatt and the Cowboys.

“It takes a special young guy to want to step out of that footprint to go play basketball, spread his wings and want that adventure,” said Shyatt, who has seen his coaching career make stops at Akron, Utah, Cleveland State, New Mexico, Providence, Clemson and Florida as an assistant, plus Wyoming (twice) and Clemson as a head coach.

Some of the local players now away from home include a few at major powers like Cameron Wright (Benedictine) at Pittsburgh and Zach Price (St. Edward) at Louisville, to mid-majors like Nance at Wyoming, to small schools like Devon Carter (John Hay) at Lehigh.

With Northeast Ohio becoming more and more of a stop for college basketball recruiters, the trend for some players to step away from home will continue. According to Jones, players should make that choice for the right reasons.

“I would just say, don’t make a decision [based] on how far a school is or how nice a school is,” said Jones, a communications major. “Make your decision on what school can help you to be successful. Know how many players are coming in at your position, how many players are leaving, how much of an impact can you have or will you have as a freshman.

“Not everybody is ready to play right away. Do you feel comfortable there? Is it the kind of family you want to be around? The coaches, the people around the program that you see every day, that’s going to be your family for the next four years.”

Perhaps farthest away is Nance, the son of former Cavalier Larry Nance. Just as players have to be selective in their college choices, coaches sometimes have to look at the future instead of the present with some players. It was hard for most coaches recruiting Nance out of Revere High to picture just where he would play. Was he an inside player or a perimeter player?

“My eyes told me, just wait and work with this guy,” Shyatt said. “You know [his dad] grew almost five inches while he was at Clemson. Larry has continued to grow here. He’s probably grown over an inch already since high school and put on over 20 [pounds]. I would guess, since there is not a lot of facial hair yet, he’ll get at least another inch or more, plus another 15 or 20 pounds in the next three years.”

Nance has proven to be an almost instant success since the now 6-8 forward left home and arrived at Wyoming last season.

“He is doing phenomenal,” Shyatt said. “Larry has gone from a freshman who had some sparks of potential to a sophomore who should be all-conference. He plays to a great intellect, and a lot of that is character, on and off the court.”

Adapting quickly to a new lifestyle, not just basketball, along with getting in sync with the college experience seems to be key to making a four-year stay away from home work.

“The biggest thing is getting adjusted to new surroundings, getting adjusted to school,” Jones said. “I’ve had my ups and downs. But all in all, it has been a real good experience.” 

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